MovieChat Forums > Benji the Hunted (1987) Discussion > How did they fake the deaths of the coug...

How did they fake the deaths of the cougar kitten and the wolf?

posted 17 years ago by kellyleighcrutcher
14 replies | jump to latest

Would anyone know how they shot the scenes where the cougar kitten gets "killed" by the eagle and where the wolf gets "killed" by running off the edge of the cliff?
I saw the note at the end "no animals were harmed during the making of this film" the first time I saw it, but how exactly did they come up with the wolf and cougar doubles? I always had a feeling the directors used stuffed animals from a taxidermy store or something, but I'm not sure.

[–] stbenedict 17 years ago

Puppet and Robot stunt doubles. like was in Cats Vs. Dogs.

[–] DaveLoneRanger 17 years ago

The wolf was a little floppy when it fell down the cliff...easily could have been a dummy. Though I agree, many of the sequences were very real for this film.

[–] peewack-1 16 years ago

The wolf was a stuffed animal, I was shocked when I saw the flick years ago, "hey mom, they trow a plushie wolf!". The cougar was shockingly real thou.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cherihorgan 15 years ago

lookdook01 is a total and complete liar. There were strong regulations in effect at that time and those events never happened. I worked on the Benji movies as well as the Homeward Hound series and no animals were ever hurt. We used green screens, and props, There was a trained Hawk, but we had a prop that was later replaced with the omage of the kitten in the shot. The wolf was green screened and added after. Some people just like to start stuff and get that reaction of shock from people. This guy is a nutcase!

[–] Adam_Newman 15 years ago

I'm sure he was only joking...lighten up a little.

[–] takiko-1 15 years ago

> I'm sure he was only joking...lighten up a little. <

Or he could have just been an ass for the heck of it.

[–] Promontorium 15 years ago

I hate it when animals get snooty and won't come out of their trailers.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lookdook01 14 years ago

Hey everyone, I wasn't lying. btw, this is Benji.

[–] Josh_the_Uni 14 years ago

Lookdook01 HAHAHA THAT WAS HILARIOUS

[–] lascopa 15 years ago

I have a DVR and I recorded the movie in HD.

I then ran the scene where the cougar kitten gets snatched up.

When you run the scene frame by frame, you can tell that the bird has a stuffed animal in its claws. It is flying by so fast that it gives the illusion that it is a real kitten.

[–] tali1 14 years ago

I general this film must have been v awkward to make with lots of planning esp with the numerous camera angles and difficult locations
nismo power r34gtr

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (2755) 6 years ago

As the wolf fell it was obviously a dummy, making it even more funny.

The kitten happened really quickly and was probably something made to look like a kitten which the hawk was trained to seize. Still very upsetting.

Benji fostered three blond kittens and one gray one. One of the blond ones was taken by the hawk. The mother cougar had one blond cub which was larger than Benji's cubs.

When Benji fought the cougar, the animals never came into contact but still filmed a great fight. When he fought the wolf, it looked like the wolf jumped onto or at least right over him. Incredible.